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3.5.2.1: Mediating Role

  • Page ID
    15635
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    Mediator

    A mediator is an impartial person, who can help people with opposing views to find commonality, agreement, and/or understanding.

    Schematic that illustrates a mediator helping people with different views
    A mediator and four people, each with a different view

    Compiled by: Grace Wildermuth

    Idea

    The next time you are with two or more people who are discussing something about which they disagree, take on the role of mediator. Step back from your own viewpoint and seek instead to help the others in your group understand where the other person is coming from. This could be in person or on social media such as Facebook. Use active listening skills (or the equivalent of these skills expressed in writing) to help two or more people find areas of common ground. What did you do? What worked? What didn’t work?

    Key skills

    Listening, paraphrasing, looking for underlying issues, where they differ, where they agree.


    This page titled 3.5.2.1: Mediating Role is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Marcellus Matters (John A. Dutton: e-Education Institute) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.